


These People Should Never Have Been Entrusted With The Futures Of Our Country's Youth

by Nhitori



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 16:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13193568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nhitori/pseuds/Nhitori
Summary: Shuichi Saihara is ecstatic to finally get a job in his field, teaching literature at a middle school.Too bad that job's about to be complicated when he finds himself landed right in the middle of a long-standing love triangle.  Will he be the catalyst that gets them to realize all of their feelings, or will he just make things even more awkward?





	These People Should Never Have Been Entrusted With The Futures Of Our Country's Youth

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyy who knows if I'll actually continue this but here it's some fluffy OT4 stuff.

"We really think that you'll fit in with our faculty, and be good for our student body. The school you did your TA stint at have only good things to say about you, too, so with all of this in mind, Shuichi Saihara, we're glad to hire you as our newest literature teacher," The director of Midori Middle School spoke from across the desk, "I'd also like to invite you to an employee party tonight. It functions as a meeting for the first hour, then a mingling opportunity for all teachers and faculty once we've reviewed curriculums and lesson plans."

"I'll be glad to attend, Sir," Shuichi said, trying to keep his excitement from showing in an outward way that would only serve to embarrass himself. He'd been trying to find a job for almost a full year now, so to finally be hired (and in his field!) was a huge relief. He'd decided to get a teaching license for two reasons; He liked analyzing deeper meanings and subtext in literature, and it seemed like a more secure job than anything else. The difficulty he had finding a position at first had proved the latter reason wrong, but the first held strong, and now he'd managed to find work.

The hiring meeting with the school's director complete, Shuichi got the information for the employee party. It was in the school's cafeteria, and it was an hour from now, so he decided he wouldn't go home in between. Instead, he took a seat on one of the hallway's benches outside of the cafeteria and pulled one of the curriculum books from his bag. He'd already read everything on the 'definite curriculum' and 'potential curriculum' lists for middle school literature multiple times, but he could always notice a new detail on a reread. With the novel to keep him company, an hour passed in the blink of an eye. 

Shuichi returned the book to his bag and stood up, then walked into the cafeteria, finding that he was the third one to arrive. The director and one other teacher must have entered through a different door than the one he'd been sat next to, as the room did seem to have several entrances. Shuichi approached the table and took a seat which wasn't next to either of them, but still close enough that he could introduce himself, holding his hand out to the teacher he hadn't met yet, "Hi, I'm Shuichi Saihara. I just got hired as a new literature teacher."

"...Maki Harukawa," The woman stared right through him as she took his hand, shook it just once, then released it, "I'm a homeroom teacher of one of the third year classes. I also supervise the lunchrooms, playground, and some of the extracurricular programs."

"That's a lot of work for one person," Shuichi noted, "You must really love teaching."

"Mm," Maki shrugged, lifting a hand to the tufts of hair at the side of her face to twirl one around her finger, "Well, I do what I can here, since my degree is technically for early childhood. I should be working at an elementary school, but here I am nonetheless."

The fact that Maki had the confidence to say something like that in front of her boss gave Shuichi two different impressions. One was that she was beyond caring, and the other was that Shuichi's own position at this school was probably on some level a desperate measure, if the faculty director would keep a flippant elementary-school teacher employed here.

Well, that didn't change how glad he was to _have_ the job in the first place.

"Hey!" Somebody else called out, and Shuichi turned to see a sweet-looking woman with light blonde hair and rosy cheeks. She approached the table, taking breaths as if she'd just run here as she held one palm flat against her chest, "Ah, I was going to apologize for being late, but I guess most of our coworkers are running later than me..." She turned to look at Shuichi, "Oh, who are you?"

"Seeing as we got that complaint about letting Shinguji double up the courses he taught between history and literature, we needed to hire a new literature teacher," The faculty director explained.

"Shuichi Saihara," Shuichi introduced himself, "And you are...?"

"I'm the music teacher, Kaede Akamatsu," She answered, then pulled out the chair next to him, and across from Maki, "It's nice to meet you. It'll be nice that Shinguji won't have such a big workload anymore... Harukawa, was it just me, or was the stress getting to him last year?"

"Uh," Maki looked up at the ceiling with another halfhearted shrug, "Shinguji? Oh, right. I wouldn't say the stress got to him. I think he was just kind of weird from the beginning. Some of the students say he creeps them out."

"Awh, well," Kaede leaned against the table, "He's just a little bit eccentric. Nothing to worry about there. Do you think he'll show up today?"

"Doubt it," Maki said, "He's been working here long enough, he knows what's expected of him. I only came because Momota wanted me to."

"Ha-ru-ka-wa," Kaede teased Maki by enunciating each syllable in her name, "Now, when are you actually gonna get together? If you don't do it soon, I might just have to swoop in and steal you for myself, you know."

"J-Just because the students think there's something between us doesn't mean that there is, Akamatsu..." Maki muttered, biting at her thumbnail, "We're just friends, you know? It's in bad form for teachers to date each other anyway..."

"I 'unno," Kaede gave a bit of a shrug, "I mean technically, it's worse form to date students' parents than to date other teachers, so I don't think it'd be that big a deal if you did get together. I mean, nobody really cared when Amami and I dated~"

"Uh-huh, okay," Maki noted, glaring right through Kaede, "It was a big deal when he dumped you for that guy he met at Starbucks though."

"Oh, hush," Kaede flushed red, holding both her hands up in front of herself, "I didn't spread that information! I wouldn't gossip about myself. Besides, I'm happy for him."

Shuichi wasn't sure what to make of the fact that he was already hearing all of the gossip between and about his fellow teachers, before he'd even met all of them. He decided to take the easiest route and ask, "What do Momota and Amami teach?"

"Ah," Maki turned to him and offered an explanation, "Momota's the science teacher. Amami has one of the second year homerooms, and he teaches a geography elective. That's a tough workload. Well, not really. Just a lot of walking. Homeroom teachers have to handle the classes between subjects so he has to go back and forth too much."

"Why is this school so understaffed?" Shuichi asked, looking to the director.

The faculty director sighed, "Well, okay. The truth is, most teachers don't last more than a year here. Nobody knows why, but most people quit. It's a revolving door for almost everyone that we hire, so we've kind of just ended up with core employees."

"Well," Shuichi was grateful for the honesty, "I sincerely hope that I can become one of those core employees, then. You all seem like great people, and even understaffed, this seems like a great school."

"It's better than being unemployed," Maki deadpanned, "So, sure. Join us in Hell."

"Harukawa..." The director groaned.

"Fire me. I dare you," Maki said, making direct eye contact with the faculty director. He shrunk under her gaze. He wasn't about to fire a teacher who took on as many responsibilities as Maki did, even if she did have a bad attitude towards her job, and teaching in general.

"Hey everybody!" A loud voice came from the cafeteria's door to the outside, and Shuichi looked up to see an optimistic-looking man approaching the table, "Whoa, new guy! Who're you?"

"Shuichi Saihara," Shuichi introduced himself again, "I'm the new literature teacher."

"Come sit down, Momota," Maki said, now glaring daggers at the new arrival who cam and sat down next to her. With that, she turned her head back to the director, "Well, that's everybody. My lesson plan is to keep the children happy. The end."

"Wait, doesn't Yonaga usually come too?" Kaede asked, looking between her coworkers, "We shouldn't start the meeting without her..."

"Awh, I forgot to tell you Akamatsu," Kaito laughed as he leaned on the table, "Yonaga can't make it cause she's in Hawaii. She's gonna bring us all back souvenirs! Isn't that awesome?"

Maki rolled her eyes, "Knowing Yonaga, she'll bring us all back black sand and we'll be cursed until we find a way to send it back to the island. I wouldn't accept her souvenirs if I were you."

"...Art teacher," Kaede whispered to Shuichi as if that explained anything, then straightened up and spoke out loud, "Well, my lesson plan is to follow the set curriculum of music books, as well as add in some extra learning for songs that my students may approach me with as their personal favorites."

Kaito offered up his plan as well, "Science curriculum with a good dose of super fun experiments! Ah, Saihara, we don't expect you to have a plan just yet."

Shuichi gave a nervous chuckle, "Well, it's been a year since I finished my TA position, so I had plenty of time to think up a bunch of ideas. My goal is to lead a number of class discussions on the meaning behind important passages within classic literature. I don't want to teach students in a right-or-wrong manner, but encourage critical thinking."

"That's very good of you. I commend your teaching methods," Maki noted, then stood up and wandered away from the table, "Well, that's done, and this is boring. Momota, Akamatsu, let's go get dinner. Saihara... You're welcome to join us, if you'd like to get greasy food with three near-strangers."

Shuichi stood up as well, "Ah, if it's okay..."

"Of course it is," Kaede stood and swooped up Shuichi's right arm in both of her own, and she led him out through the outer door of the cafeteria, "Saihara, did you drive here?"

"No, I took the train and walked the distance from the station. I have a license, but I don't have a car," Shuichi answered, stumbling as he tried to keep up with Kaede, "I'm staying in a hotel room, too, since my position didn't get confirmed until earlier today. I'll need to work on getting some stability."

"We can help you with that," Kaede giggled, leaning forward so he could see her winking at him, "Me, and Harukawa and Momota... We're the dream team, so you're lucky to meet us right at the beginning of summer break. We'll have plenty of time. Anyway, since you didn't drive here, do you wanna ride?"

"That'd be great. Thanks, Akamatsu," Shuichi chuckled, letting Kaede lead him to her car. She had a Volkswagen bug. An import, which should have been pricier than she could afford, but it seemed to be just old enough that she could have gotten a good deal on it used. Or maybe it was a gift from her past. He decided to ask, "A German car, huh?"

"Yes," Kaede nodded, getting into the driver's seat, "An import's kind of expensive for a teacher to have, that's what you're thinking, right? Truth is, it was a present from an ex-boyfriend. He had a lot of money and he was super generous with it, but he never actually listened to what I said. I mention that I love a German composition and he thinks that means I want a German car. It's fine, but you know, if he was gonna spend this much on me he should have got me a grand piano!"

"So I take it you broke up because he wouldn't listen to you?" Shuichi pondered, though he wasn't sure why he was so keen on getting this brand-new acquaintance to overshare.

Kaede shrugged, "That was part of it, yeah. He was also quite a bit older than me, and I think that he started getting as tired of me as I was of him when he realized that I do quite a bit more thinking than most of the cute young blondes that got together with him. He was really charming at first, but you know, it just didn't work out!"

"I understand," Shuichi said, "Well, I don't have much of a romantic history, let alone a complicated one like that, so I don't understand on a personal level, but I get the concept. It sounds to me like the two of you weren't ever going to be meant for each other, and you're better off."

"Yeah, that basically sums up all of my failed relationships," Kaede admitted, "I guess it'll just be a while still until I find the right person."

Shuichi weighed his options. Sure, he'd just met Kaede, but was she friendly enough that he could make a joke like this? He decided that he may as well, "I dunno, you seemed pretty close with Harukawa back there."

"Y-You could tell? Kaede asked, blushing, "It's not like a serious crush or anything. She and Momota are going to end up together anyway, even the students know it. Besides, just because I'm bi doesn't mean that she is. Oh, and don't you dare tell anybody that I said this to you!"

"My lips are sealed," Shuichi agreed with a bit of a laugh, "Hey, you never know. Maybe Harukawa likes both of you. And maybe Momota likes you? You could work out some sort of weird arrangement, you know. I bet the students would just _love_ to get gossip like that."

"Oh, hush you," Kaede reached out and smacked the side of Shuichi's arm with a laugh, "As if something like that could ever happen, jeeze. That's super unrealistic!"

"You're not saying you're against it, though," Shuichi continued to tease. Kaede stopped the car.

"We're here," She pointed through the windshield at the restaurant, "And as funny as you are, Saihara, cut the jokes around the others. Harukawa doesn't take well to humor. Momota does, but then he'd steal the joke and try it on Harukawa. Basically, all roads lead to her being pissed off."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shuichi said, then climbed out of Kaede's bug and approached the door along with her. She opened it, then approached the hostess stand.

"Hello Shirogane!" Kaede greeted the restaurant hostess, a rather plain-looking young woman who worked part-time to support herself while focusing on her hobby, which had finally started to become profitable for her, "It's us again. Plus, a new teacher! This is Saihara, he's the new literature teacher."

"Yes, Akamatsu," Tsumugi rolled her eyes. Kaede, Kaito, and Maki were in here very often, sometimes with other teachers in tow, and they liked to think that how often they saw her made them friends. It didn't, "Momota and Harukawa are already in your usual booth, so you can just head right back there..." It also didn't help that their usual table was one of the three that Tsumugi had to handle on top of her hostess duties.

"Thank you!" Kaede thanked her, dripping with manners. Tsumugi just gave a flat look in return until Kaede walked past her, Shuichi in tow, to the relevant booth. They slid in across from Maki and Kaito, and Shuichi gave an unsteady wave. He did still feel a bit odd, intruding on what was clearly a tradition.

"Good to have you here, Saihara," Kaito seemed to pick up on Shuichi's discomfort and immediately set about doing what he could to assuage it, "Here's hoping that you stick around as a teacher at Midori."

"That's still intimidating, you know. I'm not sure how much I'm actually looking forward to working at a school with a reputation of losing its teachers after a year," Shuichi said, "Well, I'm still excited for the job, but, you know..."

"It isn't anything to worry about," Kaito assured him with a grin and a dismissive wave of his hand, "I promise you! If you've got us watching your back, then there's no way that you won't be sticking around for a long time, after all."

"This is true," Maki said, staring right through him as she spoke, "You are becoming _our_ friend, Saihara. Therefore, nothing bad will be allowed to happen to you."

"You make it sound like working at Midori Middle School is some sort of cult," Shuichi said, giving Maki a wary look.

"That's just the way that Harukawa is," Kaito laughed as he explained, slinging an arm across her shoulders, "She'll have your back even more than I do, just because I do! Unless you mess with any of her students," Kaito's face suddenly fell into a solemn stare, "Don't mess with Harukawa's students."

"Right," Maki nodded in agreement, "I'll break your neck. If you do that. Otherwise, I'll break the necks of people who bother you."

"Could it be that you're the reason most teachers don't last more than a year?" Shuichi asked, still caught off-guard too much to think through what he was saying.

"Everyone wonders that at some point," Kaede laughed, then reached across the table to poke Maki's cheek, "But Harukawa's not a scary grizzly bear, she's just a teddy bear trying to roar like a grizzly!"

"You can't know that yet," Maki shot back, "I haven't needed to kill anyone for messing with my friends or students yet. You haven't seen anything yet."

"Well, I definitely won't mess with your students or anything, Harukawa," Shuichi assured her, smiling, "It's nice to see how much you care about them."

"Mm. I don't even like kids, I'm just good at dealing with them and I don't want to see them get hurt," Maki noted, putting one hand back behind her head and leaning back against the bench, "So it might be a little inaccurate to say I care, but you know, it's fine."

"Tsundere down to the bone," Kaede mumbled under her breath, then spoke up at a normal volume, "So, do you want to order our usual assortment?"

"Probably," Kaito said, then looked to Shuichi, "Hey, Saihara. Any allergies? Anything on the menu strike you as a favorite?"

"Not especially, and I don't have any allergies," Shuichi noted.

"In that case, the true measure of if you're one of us... Will be if you like all the food we usually order to share!" Kaito exclaimed, then looked to Tsumugi as she approached the table.

"Please quiet down before the other customers begin complaining about you," Tsumugi said, staring down the table, "Will you be making any changes to your order?"

"No thanks, Shirogane," Kaede said, "Just the usual again. We always have plenty, so we don't need to add any to have enough for our new friend Saihara."

"That's much more information than I needed," Tsumugi said, then wandered back away from the table, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from the pocket of her apron. She didn't care enough to remember that table's usual order, but after the first two times she'd had to write the entire thing down, she decided to just keep a copy of the order slip to make things easier on herself.

"Shirogane's such a nice waitress," Kaede noted as she turned back to her friends, pressing the pads of her fingers together, "Anyway... All in favor of Saihara joining us here weekly, once the school year resumes?"

Kaede herself rose her hand, and Kaito did as well without hesitation. Maki looked between them, then rose her hand as well, though with much less enthusiasm. Shuichi couldn't help but smile at how he was being so warmly welcomed to his new work environment, and he knew that he'd make the most of it.

This was just the beginning of a brand new chapter in his life.


End file.
